United Nations S/2019/530

Security Council Distr.: General 27 June 2019

Original: English

United Nations Verification Mission in Colombia

Report of the Secretary-General

I. Introduction

1. The present report is submitted pursuant to Security Council resolution 2435 (2018), by which the Council renewed the mandate of the United Nations Verification Mission in Colombia, and resolution 2366 (2017), in which it requested the Secretary- General to report on the activities of the Mission every 90 days. The report covers the period from 27 March to 26 June 2019.

II. Major developments

2. The reporting period was marked by positive developments in some areas of peace implementation, such as reintegration. But security concerns persisted and polarization and division around the peace process continued, in particular, over the transitional justice pillar. In April and May, Congress held contentious debates on the six objections to the statutory law of the Special Jurisdiction for Peace lodged in March by President Iván Duque Márquez. Votes in the Senate were followed by procedural debates over whether an absolute majority had been reached in the Senate, as was the case in the Chamber of Representatives, in order to overrule the objections. The matter was referred to the Constitutional Court which, on 29 May, ruled that both chambers had reached the required threshold. President Duque enacted the measure into law on 6 June. 3. Congress debated two constitutional reforms proposed by the Government, which it stated were intended to address failings of the current peace agreement but would only apply to future agreements. One proposal would bar the crimes of kidnapping and drug trafficking from being considered as political crimes or as activities linked to them. The measure proposed by the Government includes a provision stating that it would not affect the signatories of current peace agreements. The second proposed reform would have the effect of ensuring that all sexual crimes against children would be tried in the regular justice system. This measure, as proposed by the Government and approved in the first round of consideration, does not include a provision explicitly stating its non-retroactivity. Various parties maintain that this explicit provision should be included at the second reading to avoid a risk of having a negative impact on the current peace process.

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S/2019/530

4. The Government’s four-year national development plan was approved on 3 May, reflecting lengthy negotiations with Congress. The plan includes a “road map for stabilization” that identifies peace-related activities within a broader set of public investments in regions affected by the conflict. The plan also gives the Government the authority to continue to pay basic monthly allowances to former members of the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia-People’s Army (Fuerzas Armadas Revolucionarias de Colombia-Ejército del Pueblo, FARC-EP) participating in the reintegration process and to facilitate access to land for their income-generating activities. Amendments were adopted to strengthen accountability and oversight, including through the inclusion of a multi-year investment plan for peace, yearly targets and reporting requirements on peace-related actions. 5. The judicial process involving Seuxis Paucias Hernández Solarte, also known as Jesús Santrich, accused of drug trafficking and requested for extradition, continued to unfold, deepening divisions around the peace process. On 15 May, the Special Jurisdiction for Peace ruled that it had not been provided with enough evidence to establish that the criminal conduct attributed to Mr. Santrich had occurred after the signing of the peace agreement and it applied the non-extradition guarantee. The Special Jurisdiction ordered his release and stated that the alleged conduct should be investigated in Colombia. This ruling was appealed by the Inspector G